The following email was sent to all PTA Boards and School Principals and was asked to be made available to all interested parties
Hi Provo PTA Boards and School Principals,
Here is the legislative info that I presented to you last Wednesday. Please share this information with your PTA members, both through email and at the meetings you have between now and election day. Amendment A in particular has the potential to vastly change education funding in Utah, and people need to hear about it. As a reminder, we don't tell people how to vote, but we encourage them to vote, and we do help them be aware of things that affect education. This email includes
A summary (below) explaining the constitutional amendments on the ballot and the state PTA's official position on those amendments. Feel free to copy and paste into your own email to your PTA members--I'm trying to make this easy!
The slide show created by our regional director, Ashley Rayback, that I used last week. I include this for your reference, although you are also welcome to pass it on to your members. It gives more information than the summary and includes links to more information. (Please note that the slide show discusses Amendment D, which has since been thrown out by the courts)
A flier from Ashley you can reference/send/use as well.
The most complicated amendment to understand is Amendment A, and I highly recommend the Kem C. Gardner Institute's excellent policy brief for those wanting to understand it more deeply.
Also, please, please share with your communities that the Provo PTA is hosting a meet-the-candidates night with the candidates for Provo School Board on Thursday, October 10, from 6:30-8:00 pm at the Professional
Development Center (280 W 940 N). This is a great opportunity for our school communities to get to know the candidates and to talk with them about important issues!
Thanks so much,
Joy McMurray
Provo PTA Legislative VP
2024 Utah Constitutional Amendments Summary
There are two constitutional amendments on the ballot that affect education:
Amendment A has the potential to vastly change education funding in Utah. For the past 77 years, income tax revenue in Utah has been used exclusively to fund public education. Amendment A would change the state constitution so that income tax can also be used "to support other state needs." The Utah PTA has taken a position against this amendment to "oppose the dilution of the constitutional mandate to fully fund public education." One tricky aspect of this amendment is that it has been set up so that, if it passes, a bill ending the state sales tax on food will go into effect. Some voters may be so excited to end a tax that they neglect to fully consider the true implications of the amendment. The state PTA says "Nay on A!"
Amendment B proposes "to increase the limit on the annual distributions from the State School Fund to public schools from 4% to 5% of the fund." The purpose of this amendment is to even out Trust Lands funding between the future and the present. The state PTA is in favor of this--since the Trust Lands funds are well managed and growing, the kids in 50 years will be getting larger amounts to fund their schools than present-day students will. Amendment B helps to balance that without threatening the sustainability of the fund. The state PTA says "B is Best!"